| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  [2] |
| Entertainment Weekly | A−[3] |
| Pitchfork | 9.0/10[4] |
| Q |  [5] |
| Robert Christgau |  [6] |
| The Source |  [7] |
Innercity Griots is the second studio album by American hip hop group Freestyle Fellowship. It was released on April 28, 1993 on 4th & B'way Records and distributed through Island Records.
Critical reception
Nathan Bush of AllMusic gave the album 5 stars out of 5, praising the group's creativity and range as well as the album's production, which he felt showed an improvement from their previous effort.[2] Jihad Hassan Muhammad of The Dallas Weekly commented that "they gave an unlikely musical offering at the time when everything was gangs and sets thrown as far as hip-hop was concerned in Los Angeles."[8]
In 2012, it was listed by The Daily Californian as one of the "10 Albums for the Hip-Hop Layman".[9] In 2013, Spin named it one of the 50 best rap albums of 1993.[10] In 2015, NME placed it at number 51 on its list of the "100 Lost Albums You Need to Know".[11]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Bullies of the Block" | Freestyle Fellowship, Bambawar | 4:55 |
| 2. | "Everything's Everything" | Freestyle Fellowship, The Earthquake Brothers, L. McCann | 3:47 |
| 3. | "Shammy's" | Freestyle Fellowship, The Earthquake Brothers, Daddy-O | 4:16 |
| 4. | "Six Tray" | M. Davis, The Earthquake Brothers | 4:39 |
| 5. | "Danger" | Freestyle Fellowship, The Earthquake Brothers | 3:58 |
| 6. | "Inner City Boundaries" (featuring Daddy-O) | Freestyle Fellowship, Daddy-O, R. Willis | 4:39 |
| 7. | "Cornbread" | E. Hayes, Jr. | 4:21 |
| 8. | "Way Cool" | Freestyle Fellowship, G. Redd, R. Bell, R. Mickens, D. Thomas, R. Westfield, G. Brown, C. Smith | 4:22 |
| 9. | "Hot Potato" | Freestyle Fellowship, Edman, M. Rice, J. Gillespie | 4:30 |
| 10. | "Mary" | E. Hayes, Jr., M. Troy, O. Glenn, H. Mancini | 3:45 |
| 11. | "Park Bench People" | M. Troy, The Earthquake Brothers | 4:59 |
| 12. | "Heavyweights" (featuring Cockney "O" Dire, Archie, Volume 10, Spoon, and Ganja K Chronic) | Freestyle Fellowship, The Heavyweights, The Earthquake Brothers | 6:11 |
| 13. | "Respect Due" | Freestyle Fellowship, The Earthquake Brothers | 3:53 |
| 14. | "Pure Thought" (CD bonus track) | Freestyle Fellowship, W. Cobham | 3:04 |
Personnel
Information taken from the liner notes.[12]
- Freestyle Fellowship: Myka 9, Aceyalone, Peace, and Self Jupiter.
- The Earthquake Brothers: The Jamm Messenger D, Mathmattiks, and The Mighty O-Roc.
- Freestyle Fellowship – vocals, production, mixing
- The Earthquake Brothers – production, mixing
- Bambawar – production, mixing
- Daddy-O – vocals, production, engineering
- Edman – production
- JMD – bass guitar, timpani, drums, percussion, production
- Kevin O'Neal – upright bass, production
- Kim Buie – executive production
- Kedar Massenburg – executive production, mixing
- Matt Hyde – engineering, mixing
- Rich Herrera – engineering, mixing
- Dawud – engineering
- Aceyalone – mixing
- Ed Lawson – mixing
- Robert Harris – bass guitar
- Don Littleton – percussion
- Marvin McDaniel – acoustic guitar
- Rodney Millon – guitar
- Onaje Murray – vibraphone
- Tom Ralls – trombone
- Christy Smith – bass guitar, upright bass
- Alfred Threats – bass guitar
- Jon Williams – trumpet
- Randall Willis – tenor saxophone, saxophone, flute
- DJ Kiilu – turntables
- Mathmattiks – turntables
- Spoon – vocals
- Cockney "O" Dire – vocals
- Archie – vocals
- Volume 10 – vocals
- Ganja K Chronic – vocals
Notes
- ^ Madden, Sidney (April 28, 2015). "Today in Hip-Hop: Freestyle Fellowship Drop 'Innercity Griots' Album". XXL. Retrieved May 20, 2017.
- ^ a b Bush, Nathan. "Inner City Griots - Freestyle Fellowship". AllMusic. Retrieved May 9, 2010.
- ^ Fox, Marisa (July 23, 1993). "Innercity Griots (1993)". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
- ^ Pemberton, Rollie (11 October 2020). "Freestyle Fellowship: Innercity Griots Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
- ^ "Q review". Q: 88. July 1993.
- ^ Christgau, Robert. "Consumer Guide: Freestyle Fellowship". Robert Christgau. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
- ^ "The Source review". The Source: 79. March 1993.
- ^ Muhammad, Jihad Hassan (February 14, 2013). "Hip-Hop's Black History Album List Part 2". The Dallas Weekly. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
- ^ Bell, James (September 19, 2012). "Goin' Off: 10 Albums for the hip-hop layman". The Daily Californian. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
- ^ "Freestyle Fellowship, Innercity Griots (4th & B'way/Island/Polygram)". Spin. November 21, 2013. Retrieved May 20, 2017.
- ^ "100 Lost Albums You Need To Know". NME. March 6, 2015. Retrieved May 20, 2017.
- ^ Freestyle Fellowship (1993). Innercity Griots.
External links
- Innercity Griots at Discogs (list of releases)